True Stories 16 Real-Life Horror Stories Of Tinder Dates Gone Wrong

When most people sign up for an online dating account, they're looking for someone to fall in love with. But it seems like an increasing number of users these days aren't finding love so much as experiencing horrifying encounters with uncouth strangers. Horror stories of online dating are showing up all over the Internet now, with people speaking out about their experiences more than ever before.

Tinder, now one of the most popular online dating websites, is not exempt from these scary stories. From simple tales of strangers losing their temper in a message to situations so out of control they warrant calling the police, Tinder users have plenty to say about why they should have swiped left.

Englishman In A Turkish Coup

Photo: philip_stephenson1/Instagram

In July 2016, Englishman Phil Stephenson found himself in Turkey during the country's failed coup, thanks to a Tinder date. A woman Stephenson matched with on Tinder asked him if he would travel to Turkey with her after her family dropped out of the trip at the last minute. Free trip to Turkey? Sure. Why not?

Unfortunately for them, they landed in the country just as the coup was getting started. To make matters worse, the two had very different ideas of how the trip should go. Stephenson was looking for casual fun while his date, Nicole Graham, reportedly wanted something a little more serious.

"As soon as we got on the plane she was wanting to hold hands," he said. "She was a nice girl, don't get me wrong... Unfortunately it was a Tinder date that went wrong."

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Graham had her own commentary about the date: “It was the worst time of my life - and he nicked my toothpaste."

A Nationwide Search For A Celebrity's Daughter

If you're going to hang out with sketchy guys you met on Tinder, call your mom and let her know where you are. Especially if your mom is a famous comedian who can (and will) use the power of social media to track you down.

Chelsea O'Donnell, the 17-year-old daughter of Rosie O'Donnell, went missing for nearly a week in the summer of 2015. After reporting the incident to the police, Rosie turned to social media for help. She posted messages on Twitter and Instagram asking the public for any information they could provide.

By Wednesday, police had located Chelsea. Turns out she had been hiding out with a 25-year-old named Steve Sheerer. Chelsea met Sheerer on Tinder and was apparently with him of her own accord. According to O'Donnell on Twitter, Sheerer had previously been arrested for drug-related offenses. His case was later dropped.

I'm Telling Your Mom!

Most women are used to getting creepy messages on Tinder, and many ignore them. But when California's Lori Zalabak received an extremely aggressive, vulgar, and insulting response from a guy, she did more than just ignore him. She took her reaction to the one person the guy probably didn't want her to: his mom.

She contacted his mother to let him know the kind of things her son was saying to people on Tinder.